Anything but Syria

8/29/13 4:26 PM EDT

"The White House isn’t saying reporters shouldn’t be following the Syria news, but it made sure there were plenty of other developments to cover Thursday," my colleague Reid Epstein reports at 44. "Facing a flood of tough headlines over its Syria policy, the White House chose Thursday as the ideal day to release major new policies on guns, gays and marijuana — three areas sure to excite President Barack Obama’s Democratic base."